Waiting on God's Calling

by Andrea Carrothers144scon March 12, 2018

Anyone who knows me knows I DO NOT like to wait. I am known for my ridiculous fast-paced, “power walking”-everywhere I go-not just in exercise. Waiting on God’s calling has been a never-ending exercise for me. Each time God told me to wait for Him, He asked me, “Andrea, do you love Me enough to trust Me with your life? That I know what is best for you?” More times than I care to admit, I have said, “Pssh, God if you really know what is best for me, then just get on with the plan already, would ya!”

But, He has always been faithful to me in granting me my heart’s desires, in His own time. When I was almost 3 years old, I was infected with bacterial meningitis and lost all of my hearing. While it may sound strange that I am saying this, losing my hearing was actually one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me! For one, I can shut people up whenever I want it quiet (don’t worry, this doesn’t happen too often 😉). But, it was through losing my hearing that God first taught me to wait for Him. Jeremiah 29: 11-13 proclaims, “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

The first doctor I saw had no clue what was wrong with me. After months of agonizing tests and still no answers, God sent me my guardian angel through a referral from my pediatrician. My surgeon, Dr. Thedinger, knew from the moment I walked into his office that I wanted to hear and speak again. He implanted me with a cochlear implant and has been by my side as I have grown up and learned to hear and speak again. Fast forward, 15 years later, with Dr. Thedinger’s encouragement, I found my calling to become an audiologist so, that I could share the gift of sound with others, like me, with hearing loss.

My journey to becoming an audiologist has been an arduous one, to put it lightly. But, God has put a special calling in my heart and in 15 years, I have never let this calling go. Many people have tried to talk me out of it-telling me that it is just not meant to be but, what God has been telling me is to WAIT. While I am in this period of waiting, I am learning to embrace my God-given talents in Audiology in other ways throughout the community. Through this period of waiting, God has opened other doors for me to better groom me for what my heart ultimately desires-to be closer to Him.

Do you find yourself in a period of waiting-personally or professionally? Seek out a mentor. Someone more seasoned than yourself who shares the Faith. Someone who sets a positive example of how to overcome obstacles you may be facing while you are in a season of waiting for what God has in store for you. If God puts a burning desire in your heart, He will find a way to make it happen. Faith is trusting the journey that we are on-no matter how weird or wild it is. Last but, not least, I challenge you to look back at the trials you have been on in your own life. What gifts has God given you from these hard times? No matter how big or small-look to the hard times in life as a gift from God. Let go of anger-it is from the devil. God loves us but, it is up to us to use each of our life’s circumstances to grow closer to Him. This is what I have learned from my beautiful yet, challenging life I have been given by God.